I genuinely hate this time of year because contrarian brothers come out of the woodwork. You know the type. The ones who cackle like they know something you dont when you talk about politics. The brothers who try to convince you that federal elections dont matter. The ones who are quite literally the frog in the pot of boiling water.

It is so interesting to hear them bemoan how both political parties are the same while leaning heavily on right wing talking points/rhetoric to support this view.

My brother, telling someone they're on a plantation for voting for Democrats is racist. It comes from Republicans. It frames black people as docile idiots who can't do anything to free themselves from bondage.

The reality is the black voting block is the most discerning voting block in the country. We are the least likely to vote against our better interest.

Contrarian brothers will talk endlessly about how dems dont do anything but have nothing to say about what plans Republicans are offering, just another serving of pull yourself up by the bootstraps platitudes. Contrarian brothers have no answer for why Republicans continually chip away at the hard fought rights black people have gained... every time they gain a modicum of power.

They just screech and clap their hands wavingf the finger at dems for not doing anything like the useful idiots they are.

But I feel for them. Most of this is driven by a severe derth of understanding how government works, how bills get passed, what is policy vs law and more.

What they also fail to understand is that you're often not even voting for policy/law. You're voting for the conditions under which you can advocate for policy/law. Do you think it's easier to advocate for voting rights under an administration that makes it easy to claw away those rights? Purge rolls with impunity? Redraw maps without challenge? Enacts literacy tests for certain voters? I'd wager not.

But if you have an administration that is amicable towards voting rights, addressing all of these is marginally easier. You may not get all or exactly what you want but at the very least you can have the conversation with a real opportunity to make meaningful changes.

It's not hard for me to get this.